At first appearance, "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" might seem akin to the
(dis)likes of "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" or, even more horrifying, a Pauly
Shore movie. Executive produced by Adam Sandler and starring his good pal and
SNL alum Rob Schneider, this politically incorrect and relatively
good-natured comedy pleasantly surprises for a number of reasons, and comes
off being one of the funniest films of the year.

In its story of fish tank cleaner Deuce Bigalow (Rob Schneider) and the turn
of fate that causes him to take over the profession of Antoine Laconte (Oded
Fehr), a gigolo, in order to make quick cash to pay for the extreme damages
that are accidentally inflicted upon his home, there is ample opportunity for
comedic situations, and screenwriters Harris Goldberg and Rob Schneider are
up to the challenge. Occasionally snappy dialogue and, especially, an
overabundance of clearly lowbrow, yet insufferably humorous, physical comedy,
help to give the picture a breezy, entertaining pace.

While the film's myriad jokes target everyone from the obese, to the tall, to
the blind, to those with Tourette's Syndrome and Narcolepsy, it never seems
downright mean because there are lessons that are learned and the characters
are mostly likable people. All of Deuce's clients, it seems, have some sort
of shortcoming, and although the aforementioned groups are featured at the
expense of some tasteless humor, the characters still, strangely, keep away
from being cartoonish with no purpose but to be laughed at. For example, the
young woman Deuce takes out who has Tourette's (Amy Poehler), is very funny,
as she uncontrollably yells profanities at random, but it turns out to
develop a kinder edge when they go to a baseball game and, in his attempt to
not make her feel out of place, tries to incorporate her profanities into
their discussion of the ball players.

Amid all of the silliness, a genuinely sweet romance develops between Deuce
and recent college graduate Kate (Arija Bareikis). Originally hired to take
her out, posing as a blind date, but then unintentionally falling head over
heels for her, problems arise when Kate discovers Deuce has been lying to
her. One of the more sensitive aspects of this subplot is in its treatment of
Kate, who turns out to have an artificial leg. Instead of only being played
for laughs, Deuce is easily able to overlook such a thing, as he nonetheless
sees her otherwise inner and outer beauty. Arija Bareikis (1997's "The Myth
of Fingerprints"), as Kate, is a sparkling presence onscreen, and in many
ways, this romance that is played out against the backdrop of occasional
gross-out humor, is reminiscent of 1998's "There's Something About Mary."
While the latter picture was overhyped, and thus, was a disappointment,
"Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo," surpasses all expectations for its usually
disreputable genre, and is almost consistently funny from start to finish.

As in most comedies of this ilk, there is a little excessiveness in some of
the humor, and not every joke works. Accordingly, the film is light in tone
and its message is sophomorically simple-minded, but it somehow works. More
than anything, "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" has arrived at a time when
theaters are currently being overrun by serious films vying for Oscar
statuettes, and it was nice to finally see a movie that isn't 3 hours long
and requires a strong train of thought to process. Director Mike Mitchell
shows a spark for filming comedic setpieces, and Rob Schneider acts as an
enjoyable protagonist, not overly annoying or imbecilic, and someone that we
are willing to follow throughout the story. "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" may
not be a masterpiece, but it has no aspirations to be. It is simply a very
funny comedy--no more, no less--and sometimes, that is enough.